SEVEN SKILLS FOR QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES IN 21ST CENTURY

　Technical and technological skills will take on greater importance. There will be a growing need for people who can understand and fix systems——from computer systems to product distribution systems to plumbing systems.

　Visionary skills will be in demand. The ability to gather and absorb a wide range of input, then use that knowledge, understanding, and perspective to guide organization into future, will be vital.

　Numbers and measurement will be important, of course, but smoothing the flow form month to month,from quarter to quarter will be essential for highly profitable long-term performance. Practically every company will have to move away from today's obsession with looking ahead only as far as the next financial reporting period.

　Ability to organize will definitely be important in the corporation of the future. Everywhere there will be a need to organize something: resources, workflow, marketing mix, financial opportunities, and much more, all will demand high levels of organization and reorganization.

　Persuasive skills will be used in many ways by the corporation of the future, the most-effective individuals will be those who know how to present information and ideas so that others can understand and support a particular position. Good salesmanship will be essential in many more interactions than we consider today, especially inside the organization.

　Communication skills——careful listening, clear writing, close reading, plain speaking,and accurate description——will be invaluable. In tomorrow's fast-paced business environment there will be precious little time to correct any misunderstandings. Communications breakdown may well become a fatal corporate disease.

　Ability to learn will be above everything else in importance——empowering people to grow in effectiveness and help their companies achieve desired objectives. Some of this skill is innate, but many people enhance their ability to learn——and to relate different aspects of learning——through college and university courses. We believe the liberal arts education experience will prove to be the most valuable type of education for tomorrow's leaders.

　The top employees of the coming century will be flexible, creative and motivated toward making a positive difference in the world. They will seek balance,growth and fulfillment in both their work and home environments. The corporation of the future must respond to these needs and desires; otherwise they will find themselves hampered by a lack of qualified people to accomplish the organization's work.

　譯文：

　21世紀合格人材必備7大技能

　1.技術專長與創新能力——將更加重要。今后將越來越需要在計算機、產品推銷和管道工程等方面既懂理論又有實踐經驗的人。

　2.想像能力——將是一種需要。這種能力至關重要，它可收集和獲取廣泛而大量的知識信息，并對其中一些知識、思維方法及觀察視角加以借鑒，以便引導公司走向未來。

　3.數字與計算——固然很重要，但是保證月與月之間的銜接、部門與部門的配合都順利通暢將是實現長期高效運作的關鍵所在。實際上，每個公司都必須改變那種只做下一個財政年度計劃的錯誤觀念。

　4.組織能力——在未來的公司的運作中無疑是十分重要的。無論到哪兒，組織工作都是必不可少的，如調撥財力物力、設置工作流程、制定市場營銷戰略、尋找贏利機會等等，所有這些都需要高水平的組織與改組能力。

　5.說服能力——將以各種方式在未來公司中發揮作用。工作最有成效的員工將是那些懂得如何表達信息和思想以便能夠得到別人理解與支持的人，出色的游說能力在未來更多的人際交往中將是必不可少的，特別是在公司內部。

　6.交流能力——聽得認真、寫得明白、看得仔細、說得清楚、敘述準確——將具有無可估量的價值。在未來快節奏的工作環境中，人們惜時如金，容不得半，點疏漏。交流障礙很可能成為未來公司致命的問題。

　7.學習能力——將在上述各種能力中占據最重要的地位，因為它使人能夠提高工作效率，幫助自己的公司達到預期目的。這種能力一部分來自個人夭賦，當然也有不少人通過接受高等教育提高自己的氣習能力和各種知識的融會貫通能力。我們認為，大學文科教育積累的經驗將證明是對明天的領導者們最有價值的教育形式。

　21世紀最出色的公司雇員將富有靈活性和創造性，并有志于做出不同凡響的創舉。他們將在事業和家庭兩方面尋求平衡、發展與完善。未來的公司必須對雇員必備技能加以考核，否則，公司的發展就會因工作中缺乏合格人才而受限制。

　重點單詞：

　Visionary 想像的

　Ability to organize 組織能力

　Persuasive skills 說服能力

　close reading 看得仔細

　plain speaking 說得清楚

　invaluable 無可估量的

　flexible 靈活性

　creative 創造性

　hampered 限制

　qualified 合格